Forever Bound
by dorukuboruu007
Summary: Forever Bound is a sequel to Cloudy Night Sky. Hibari and Riza finally realized each other's feelings but somehow, she couldn't help but feel like everything is one sided. Is there really anything between them? But when a sudden threat appeared, will she have to push her feelings aside again to protect all that is dear to her? Summary sucks I know, but bear with me. HibariXOC
1. Cloudy Night Sky Recap

**Cloudy Night Sky RECAP**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its character, All rights belong to Akira Amano. Except for Riza, I made Riza. This is the only time you'll see the disclaimer, I feel like it interrupts the story if I keep posting this in each chapter.** _For those who had trouble reading Cloudy Night Sky and will have trouble reading it, I wrote a recap so you won't have to go through it again, unless you don't mind then you're welcome to reread and skip right onto Chapter One. Sorry that it took me this long to write this._

Riza Tanakuse, a girl of fifteen was sent by the Ninth Vongola to Japan as the Night Sky Guardian, an addition to Tsuna's current guardian. From the first time Hibari, her constant antics(also known as skylarking-lol) caught the Cloud guardian off guard and despite his efforts to fend her off she always comes back and continued to indulge herself in her petty pranks. Her strength became known in school that every club desired for her to join them but every single one she rejected. To aide her, Kusakabe offered her a spot in the committee. Overtime, Hibari's interest intensified and Riza's feelings developed into a crush but she pushed it aside when she realized that Tsuna was not the boss she had expected him to be. Weak and pathetic she thought, so during a class trip to the beach, Riza devised a plan with her half-sisters to eliminate him. Her plan had failed, her own weakness was realized and her previous opinion of Tsuna changed, not completely but she eventually saw the potential in him that everyone saw.

The Vindice became involved however, Riza and her sisters were taken to be punished. Strings were pulled and bribes were used to lessen her punishment, instead of prison time, her sentence was reduced to ten years of servitude to the Varia. Hibari came to Italy( with Reborn's help ofc but I never mentioned it in the previous story, I sucked bad) and claim that he was only there to bite Riza to death as she was not let off the hook after causing him so much trouble. Riza knew better and realized his true agenda, she was touched by his action when Hibari tried to fight the Varia, but when Xanxus became involved she urged him to leave, hurting him was the only way Riza could think of at the time to make him leave.

While Hibari was still in Italy, Riza came to see him in his hotel room with a small gift in hand and bid Hibari her farewell. There she confessed to him and shared their first kiss(initiated by Riza lololol). Hibari gave Riza a form of encouragement, advising her not to let anyone tie her down. After a while, Riza was freed from her ten years of punishment early by making a deal with Lussuria(I forgot to mention it in the story and it's so long that I don't remember what kind of deal it was they made. Maybe, I'll mention it in this story.)

Riza returned to Japan not long after Hibari did and made herself a home in Hibari's office. She apologized to Tsuna and his friend and vowed to be a proper friend and guardian to him. Even with Gokudera's warning, they all eventually warmed back up to her.

In the future arc- TYL Riza was no longer with Hibari but was with Yamamoto instead( Even though I failed, I made little hints in previous chapters that lead up to the future arcs, Gah. Something caused Hibari and Riza to break up, I wasn't clear with it either but Riza was heartbroken and Yamamoto was the one that comforted her.) fifteen year old Riza was never planned to be sent to the future, but was accidentally sent by the young Irie Shoichi; in the future she was kept in the dark( i really don't know why) and snuck into the Millefiore base after Tsuna. There she met up with Byakuran and TYL Shoichi and saw that her older half-brother-a man who resented her- was working with the Millefiore. The two battled with Riza almost losing but pulled through with the help of a box that Iemitsu entrusted to her. It revealed her ow box weapon, she fought her brother and even then barely managed to defeat him.

When she thought that her fight was over, she let her guard down a bit when she was found by Kusakabe and Hibari. During a conversation with Hibari, Riza's brother came and charged at her, his sword pierced into her and that was what sent her back to her own time.

She was found in the verge to death and Dino took her back home to Italy to recuperate. Dino, who had an extreme sister-complex when it came to Riza, decided to hold all of his question until she was better and continued to search for the missing people. She decided to return to Japan-despite Dino's urging for her to stay- to wait for the return of her friends.

 **A/N:**

(This is where Forever Bound pretty much picks up, the story will pretty much focus on Hibari and Riza's development with some mystery tossed into there. LOL. I realized that even though "It's a Cloudy Night Sky" was a Hibari X OC pairing, I failed to really show that and I'm sorry. I felt like Yamamoto and Riza had something more going on than her and Hibari lol. Well, let's get right to it, Chapter One is just a click away~)


	2. Chapter One-Peaceful Days

**Forever Bound**

 **Chapter One: Peaceful Days**

Winter has finally made way for spring when the cool air began to warm. The trees regained its life, the bees were a buzz and the flowers bloomed, especially the ever favorite; the cherry blossom. The gentle breeze blew it's petals, carrying with it it's soft scent and reminded all Namimori residents that Spring has truly come. Among them were two figures atop the Namimori Middle School roof whom were quite enjoying each other's company as well as the peace that the beginning of class had brought. Riza Tanakuse sat with a serene smile across her face, her brown hair that hung below her jawline fluttered with the wind, her cyan eyes fixed on the sleeping figure on her lap. She doesn't remember when exactly it was that Hibari Kyoya, the feared head prefect, began to use her lap as a pillow. She didn't mind, as long as she gets to see the side of him that he doesn't show anyone else. He stirred, a sign that he was beginning to wake and not a moment later, his eyes opened only to be greeted by Riza's smile.

"Did you have a good nap?" she asked him. He stared at her, sleep was still notable on his face. He grumbled something incoherent as he sat up, Hibird-the yellow little bird- flew on top of Hibari's head and snuggled itself into his silky hair.

"Are you hungry?" she asked but received no answer, Riza just smiled as she pulled out a large bento box out of her bag.

"Ne...Kyoya-kun, I made you your favorite, do you want to eat it?" Riza opened the bento to reveal a delicately prepared lunch. A large serving of seasoned rice on one side, two hamburger steak drizzled with sauce, four rolls of tamagoyaki, fried tako wieners and an assortment of pickled vegetables on the other side. Hibari glanced over his shoulder and stared at the box.

"I know you skipped breakfast since it was busy this morning." she waited for an answer but Hibari already looked away. She pouted at his unexpected reaction, she thought that he would be little more up front now that they've been together for a while.

"Geez...Kyoya-kun is so mean."

"Be quiet you annoying woman or I will bite-" swiftly, Riza moved in front of Hibari, chopstick in hand and quickly she shoved a piece of food into his mouth. The delicious aroma of the hamburger steak first hit his senses and was soon followed by the taste he loved so much. He chewed for a few second before he swung his steel tonfa at Riza's direction but she jumped in time and landed just a foot away, a giggle then accompanied her smile.

A silent sigh escaped Hibari's lips as he dropped the hand that held his tonfa to his side while he ran his other hand through his hair. Seeing that Hibari lost interest, Riza returned to her original position and sat back next to him and as soon as she did, he took the bento from her hold and ate it in silence. Halfway through his meal, the bell for lunch break disturbed their peace. It also signaled for Hibari to return to his rounds, he knows the kind of shenanigans those herbivores usually cause and he needed to be there to put a stop to them.

A clear reaction of disappointment crossed Riza's face when she noticed Hibari leave without emitting a single word. She sighed loudly, enough for the prefect to hear but fell on deaf ears as Hibari disappeared back into the building.

"Mah, I'll just wait for Tsuna-san and the others to come up here for lunch." she smiled as she stared at Hibari's half eaten meal, but before she could put his food a way, she felt a hand on top of her head. Startled, she looked up behind her to see who it was only to be greeted by soft, warm lips against her own. It was brief, but it left a tingling sensation that washed over her entire being. She was flabbergasted and was unable to respond as she stared at the cerulean orbs in front of her. Hibari's lips raised into a sly smirk, it's not very often that he shows her affection and on the few times that he does, he always enjoyed Riza's stunned reaction.

"Thanks for the food…" he whispered just inches away from her lips.

Hibari didn't wait for Riza to respond or regain her composure and left once again to return to his duties, it wasn't until Tsuna and the gang arrived on the rooftop that Riza's awareness returned. She heard their usual rowdiness and meekly joined them, the chaste kiss still lingered on her lips; she still can't get used to Hibari's sudden affections. One moment he wants to bite her to death and the next he's gentle towards her. Yamamoto noticed that Riza hasn't said a single word, and saw her hovering a finger over her lips as she stared into space.

"Did something good happened Tanakuse-san?" Yamamoto inquired, Riza looked at him still a bit dazed but she confirmed his question with a smile. Satisfied with her answer, he didn't probe her anymore and returned to the group's conversation with Riza jumping in now and then.

Lately, everything has been peaceful and quiet in Nami Middle and whatever respite they were granted, had been spent with many laughters in each other's company. It's only fair, right? After all, it was the peace that they fought so hard to achieve. Even Gokudera had pointed it out, surely the future that they came from will be changed, everything from that point on will be a journey on itself to have a different future than that chaotic time. Riza wants it to be different, she didn't know then but Tsuna had explained to her that she and Hibari weren't together due to some unforeseen or rather an unexplained situation.

" _I don't want that to happen…"_ She mumbled, Gokudera who was sitting next to her heard it and frowned.

"What the hell are you mumbling about you devil-woman!" he growled just as he carefully lifted his chopstick filled with food, a mischievous thought crossed Riza's mind that in a mere second, flicked Gokudera's nose which made him drop some of his food on his lap. He shot a glare at the female guardian.

"Why do you alway call me devil-woman?" she whined. "You alway pick on me too~"

"Pick on you? Ha! That's golden coming from you." he _dramatically_ pointed at Riza, a mark of frustration visible on his face but Riza just laughed it off and the rest of the gang followed suit. She looked at her friends once more with a smile, there was unease in her heart as she watched them. Tsuna chatted with Kyoko and Reborn, while Gokudera has his attention turned back to Yamamoto. _It's going to be okay, right?_ She thought. The anxiety only grew as days passed, even the ever-clueless Yamamoto notices it sometime.

Riza took in a deep breath, held it and looked up at the sky. _It'll be okay._ She convinced herself and released the breath she had been holding. _For now at least_. And her unease was pushed back into the back of her mind, allowing her to once again focus on the people in front of her.

" _How much longer are you herbivores going to crowd?"_ The group turned towards the voice to see Hibari standing by the door with his tonfa out.

"Hahii!" Tsuna cried out.

"Ah! Hibari-san, care to join us?" Yamamoto laughed.

"Idiot! That guy is trouble!" Gokudera followed suit.

All eyes are pinned on Hibari as he menacingly walked towards the group, his aura was suffocatingly scary and the group hurriedly cleaned up their mess. He stopped only a few feet away from them and watched with careful eyes and noticed the only one not moving was Riza, who still continued to eat without a care in the world.

"Ne...Ri-chan. We should probably get moving." Kyoko whispered.

"Eeeeh? Why? Lunch break is not over ye-" her sentence was cut off when something whooshed by her head. She looked behind her to see Hibari's tonfa firmly embedded into the concrete roof.

"All of you are crowding…" Hibari pointed at the group with his other tonfa. "And you need to return to work…" he looked at Riza before turning around to leave, Riza sighed and smiled apologetically to Tsuna.

"Yes, yes...I'm coming." she followed Hibari after cleaning up but before she entered the building she turned around towards the group and waved at them.

"I'll see you guys later, okay?" and with that she skipped down the stairwell where she found Hibari patiently waiting for her.

"You're too slow…" his brows formed into a scowl.

"You didn't have to wait…" she countered with another smile.

Somehow, that unease she felt earlier just completely vanishes when he's around.


	3. Chapter Two-Night Fright

**Forever Bound**

 **Chapter Two: Night Fright**

"Kyoya-kun, I've delivered the reports to the teachers."

Riza walked into the reception room with a small stack of paper. Hibari Kyoya sat at his desk with Kusakabe standing next to him. It was almost like a scene of a butler waiting on his beloved master, the setting sun illuminating behind them with a beautiful halo. Hibari made a sound of acknowledgement, his attention still glued on the paper he was writing.

"Also, the teachers have a request…" Riza placed the papers on his desk. He had stopped writing, reached for the papers and began to skim through the pages.

"Apparently, there were accounts of vandalism behind the school gymnasium. For weeks now someone has been writing-nobody knows what it says- on the walls and no matter how many times the custodians clean them, they just reappear the next day. The School board gave order to install cctvs but those too were vandalized." Riza finished. If Hibari was angry, he sure hid it well, even Kusakabe was uncertain. There was a brief silence before Hibari stood up, glanced at the paper one last time before he donned his uniform jacket.

"Tetsu, patrol the grounds tonight. Take however many men with you and find the one responsible for vandalizing my school." Kusakabe nodded and left in a hurry, classes had already ended and to add to Hibari's new order, he still had to make sure that none of the students cause any trouble.

"Riza…" Hibari called out, snapping Riza out of her thought. She looked at him expectantly and eagerly waited for his order. "You stay here."

"Eh? But why? Since I'm staying here in school, wouldn't it make sense if I check out who it is? I'm the closest one in the vicinity." she pouted but Hibari didn't acknowledge her and left without saying another word. Riza huffed and dropped on the bed that she had placed in the reception room, she contemplated on disobeying Hibari but decided against it. She doesn't want to anger him, not when their relationship was just beginning to progress smoothly. She giggled, when she remembered how difficult and rocky their start. But when she looked back on the days since they "got together", it never seemed official and felt more like an occasional fling.

"Mah, it doesn't matter. He hasn't pushed me away." Riza propped herself with one of her pillows and opted to read a book while she waited for Hibari to return, but the book didn't quite held her attention and instead she became drowsy. She closed her tired eyes for a bit, a little rest couldn't hurt she supposed and soon drifted off to sleep.

Riza awoke with a sneeze, the reception room has gotten chillier with the arrival of night. It was dark and her vision took a while to adjust to the dim light of the moon. She shuddered from the cold and wrapped herself with one of her duvet and sat in silence.

"He never came back…" she mumbled. "Kyoya you idiot." Her phone suddenly buzzed and made her jump. She pulled out the phone from her pocket to see Yamamoto's name on the screen. He had called a few times and even sent her a text.

"I wonder why he called?" she wondered as she read his text.

 _Nana-san was worried when you didn't show up for dinner. Tsuna was worried too. Haha. So they sent me with some leftovers for you, I will be stopping by before I go home._

She glanced at the time on her phone, it read 7:30 pm.

"AAH! Dammit, it's because I wanted to wait for Kyoya to return that I didn't get to eat any of Mama's food." and right on time, her stomach started to grumble in hunger. To satisfy herself, she walked over to her mini fridge(another addition to the room that Hibari did not approve of, along with the bed and the piano), only to find it empty. She returned to her bed in a huff and decided to wait for Yamamoto to arrive with Nana's delicious cooking.

Half an hour has passed and there was still no sign of Yamamoto, her stomach continued to grumble and Riza could only wait in the dark, a million thoughts filled her mind. She sat up again with a thought, was it really terrible of Hibari to have stuck around before he went home? Riza shrugged the question and decided that she didn't want to know the answer, knowing Hibari it would probably something that could potentially hurt her feelings.

"Geez...what's taking Yamamoto so long?" she grumbled and pulled out her phone, she opened her mail and responded to Yamamoto's text to complain.

 _Heeeeeey! Yamamoto-kun! What's taking you so long? I'm really hungry!"_ Sent. Yamamoto responded faster than she had anticipated.

 _I'm by the school gate, meet me out here. I don't want to meet up with Hibari-san_

Riza chuckled and shrugged. She doesn't blame him, Hibari can get territorial when it came to the school and he won't just let anyone waltz into school grounds after hours. Especially with a vandal lurking around. She quickly responded that she would would meet him at the gates and skipped out of the room but her glee had somehow ended when she stepped out. The dark hallway loomed over her and the sudden feeling of dread begun to seep into her pores.

"C-Crap...was the school always...this scary?" she mumbled and backed into the reception room, she felt as if someone was watching but whatever or whoever it was remained in the shadows. Safely back in the room, Riza slammed the door shut and locked it, her hands were trembling a bit and it was not like her to be afraid of something she couldn't see. It wasn't just because the school at night was scary, she really felt something out there. She scoffed, trying to make herself feel a bit better. It could just be Reborn messing around with her, she knew he was notorious for his _shenanigans._

Riza walked to the window, hoping to at least get a glimpse of Yamamoto but from where she was, the gate was slightly obscured. She sighed and pulled out her phone, she wanted to tell Yamamoto to just come to her but didn't want to tell him why. She's just too embarrassed. But just as turned her phone on, a slight tap from the window made her jump. She slowly looked over but no one was there. Her mind immediately whirred its gears and thought a million different things of what it could be, but for whatever reason the very first thing she had thought of was a disembodied hand.

Tap.

Riza screeched, ran to her bed and hid under her sheets, it wasn't logical but it made her feel a hell of a lot better.

Tap.

"G-GO AWAY!"

Tap.

"Leave me alone!" she sniffed.

" _Tanakuse-san! Tanakuse-san!"_ it called. By the sound of its voice it was male, but Riza didn't want to escape the safety of her sheets. It continued to call again and the tapping on the window didn't cease but what made her jump out of her bed was the sudden ringing of her phone.

"H-hello?" she answered.

"Ah Tanakuse-san!" It was Yamamoto. Riza didn't realize she had been holding her breath until then. She almost cried out loud when relief washed over her.

"I'm outside your window, I've been trying to get your attention but you weren't responding. Did something happen? You said you were going to meet me at the gates, I tried to get in the school when you didn't come but the doors were locked." Riza chuckled, her actions earlier became a tad bit silly.

"Sorry Yamamoto-kun, I got a little spooked."

"It's okay, I got your food by the way…" he laughed. "Can I come up?"


	4. Chapter Three-Vandal

**Forever Bound**

 **Chapter Three: Vandal**

Riza squealed in delight the moment Nana's savory cooking touched her taste buds. She shoved mouthful after mouthful and couldn't seem to stop while Yamamoto watched her with glee, happy to be of helped.

"I can't believe I fell asleep and missed Mama's cooking!"

"My dad made some of his sushi too, but everyone ate all of it. I'll bring you some next time" Riza shook her head in response, a smile still plastered on her face even though her mouth was still full of food. She swallowed and laugh.

"That's ok! Thanks for bringing this by the way."

She continued to eat and Yamamoto only watched in silence, he looked around the room. He couldn't remember the last time he was in the reception room, but he was sure that Hibari never had any other furniture but his desk, the couch and coffee table and it wasn't like Hibari to let someone else decorate _his_ office. He glanced back at Riza and stared.

"What is it Yamamoto-kun?"

"Oh, nothing! Just wondering why you're staying here."

"Hm...because I have nowhere else to go. The tenth's home is already full."

"But why not go to Hibari-san's home…" Riza's face reddened at the sudden suggestion, she couldn't possibly do something so shameless as to live with the man she has feelings for. She squealed and slapped Yamamoto on the shoulders.

"Don't say such embarrassing things Yamamoto-kun."

The two continued to chat and ate; an hour has passed when the two had finally realized that it was getting too late. Riza offered to clean and return the boxes and thanked Yamamoto again for bringing her the food.

"Aren't you afraid staying here alone?" Yamamoto asked Riza. The two were on their way out of the school building, she had offered to walk him out since she found spare keys in Hibari's desk.

"A little...but I feel safer in the reception room somehow." she smiled, the keys dangling in her hands continued to make noise as they walk the dark hallways.

"Maybe because that's Hibari-san's space?" Riza's face reddened again.

"There you go again saying embarrassing things." Riza's pouting face made Yamamoto laugh.

The rest of the walk was continued in silence, when they finally reached the front doors of the school it was Riza who spoke.

"Hey, if you find someone suspicious around the school when you leave, call me. We've been getting reports of someone vandalizing the school, lately." she explained while unlocking the door.

"Oh, I've heard about that...someone actually said they saw the writings. Said it was probably Italian." The door opened smoothly, Yamamoto's info could be vital. She made a mental note to tell Hibari about it the next time she sees him.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, be careful on your way home." The two waved each other goodbye, Riza continued to watch the baseball nut leave and disappeared behind the wall fence. She looked back into the dark building, the hair on her arms stood on its ends, the feeling of dread from earlier returned with a vengeance and mentally slapped herself for being silly.

Riza opted to walk around the school grounds, it was an excuse so she wouldn't have to walk back through the dark hallways again. On the other hand, she might catch a glimpse of the vandal and possibly capture him/her.

Night time was quiet, almost eerily quiet. The nearby houses begun to shut their doors and one by one their lights shut off. Riza closed her eyes for a moment and felt the blowing breeze against her skin and listened to the rustle of the trees. The streets were empty, only the occasional stray cat could be heard. Underneath the nightly noises, Riza heard a faint sound. It was unmistakable, the sound of a spray can being used came somewhere nearby.

Riza followed the sound behind the gym, the closer she got the louder it became and accompanying it was a voice. It was male, his voice was gravelly like he had smoked a box of cigarettes in one sitting. He was grumbling something under his breath, once in awhile he spat an insult. Riza peeked around the corner and saw the man, his face was obscured by his hood. She couldn't quite see what it was he had written. If she had said that she wasn't a least bit curious, she would be lying. She was very curious, she wanted to know the man brave enough to deface Hibari's beloved school.

But with urgency came carelessness.

No matter how stealthy Riza tried to be, she could not have noticed a can of spray paint that had strayed from the vandal. Her focus was solely on the the figure that she couldn't stop herself from _loudly_ kicking the can. The man stopped his painting, his head snapped immediately towards where Riza stood but she had already ducked away.

Riza's heart pounded in her ears, there seemed to be a pause when the man didn't make any sound or movement. She couldn't move, she wasn't terrified, she just didn't want to be caught; she wanted the one to catch the culprit, not the other way around. After a while, the man returned to his work and finally allowed Riza to breath a sigh of relief.

Collecting what courage she had left, she peeked around the corner again but to her surprised that man was gone and everything was silent again.

"W-what? Where did he go?" she mumbled and approached the wall that the vandal was working on. What was written on the wall threw Riza off guard. Whatever rumor Yamamoto had heard was not a rumor at all. In front of her, in bright red paint were words written in Italian but what it translated to made her stomach flip in pure fear.

 _ **Le figlie della famiglia Mezzanotte deve morire**_.

It took everything in Riza not to scream and to run, her eyes glued on the wet paint, the red dripped down the wall making it look even more ominous. If, whoever wrote it, wanted her and her sisters dead then what was the point of announcing it?

Riza clenched her trembling fist in an attempt to keep herself calm, the first thing she planned to do was find the one responsible for the graffiti and demand answers.

If not, then at least she needed to warn her family of an impending danger. A rustling sound snapped her out of her thoughts and immediately her mind went to the vandal, but when she looked around there was no one.

The moon illuminated the school grounds and behind her was the single light that the vandal used and both were insufficient. If the vandal was still around then he must be hiding somewhere the light doesn't reach.

Or perhaps he already left.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Riza pulled out her phone and proceeded to take pictures of the "crime scene". The photos were then sent to Kusakabe who had immediately responded to her instructing her to leave and to not engage the culprit.

"Okay, I won't…" she muttered as she sent another response. "...not." Riza stuck her tongue out at her phone like it was Kusakabe himself and pocketed her phone. She returned her attention to her surrounding to look for any clues and lady luck must've been on her side, the vandal had left his backpack and stuck it behind the bushes.

In her eagerness to rummage through the backpack, she failed to notice the man lurking behind a corner. The man knew that once she opens his bag, his identity would be revealed, he cursed his carelessness but that was no time for him to lament at his mistakes.

And mistakes must be fixed.

At all cost.

Just as Riza reached into the bag, she heard quick footsteps behind her. But as she was about to get a good look at the person, a sudden pain bloomed from the back of her head, her vision turning completely black and before she could completely lose consciousness, she heard someone laugh followed by someone calling out her name. She had tried to see more but her hearing was deafened by the blow and only left an annoying ring, she could only make out bits and pieces.

There was a scuffle.

Then muffled screams.

Her name again…

Then there was nothing.

 **A/N: Sorry that this took me a while to post, I am also not confident with that Italian, it being from Google Translate.**


	5. Chapter Four-Anger

**FOREVER BOUND**

 **Chapter Four** **: Anger**

It was a strange feeling, Riza was well aware of the pounding pain emanating from the back her head and yet, she was comfortable. It was strange indeed. Even though she could find out the answer anytime she wanted to, she didn't. But why would she? Not only was she comfortable, she was quite warm as well and besides the urge to open her eyes wasn't quite there. She was still hopeful that sleep would come again to take her into its sweet embrace. The thought had put a smile to her lips, while curling into a ball and tightly wrapped the blankets around.

Just as she was about to fall back asleep, a strong aroma invaded her senses. It wasn't bad, a little pleasant sure but there was an underlying pungent smell that she'd be lying if she say that it didn't make her a slight bit queasy.

"How long do you plan to sleep?" came a voice that startled her. She had reacted too quickly that pretending to be asleep became moot. If her flinching wasn't what gave away then the slight squeak definitely have.

Riza slowly opened her eyes, sleep was still apparent but nothing a little rub couldn't cure. After her vision finally became clear, she looked around to see that the room she was in was unfamiliar. The futon she laid on was in the middle of a simple traditional room, the shoji screen was open to allow for fresh air to enter the room and a view of a beautiful, lush garden. Despite the welcome fresh breeze, the aroma she smelled earlier still lingered, no amount of fresh air in the world could purge it she thought and made a disgusted face.

"Your face is going to get stuck like that if you keep making that face…" said another voice, higher in pitch than the previous one but both were quite obviously male.

"Ah...my head really hurt." Riza mumbled as she slowly sat herself up to face the owner of the voices. Even though she was greeted by a scowl, her expression relaxed when she realized who it belonged to. Hibari sat across from her, with Reborn coolly sipping a cup of, what Riza assumed was tea.

"Where am I?" she croaked a question. It hung in the air a little too long that it turned the peaceful atmosphere, uncomfortable.

"My home…" Hibari calmly answered but it wasn't the answer Riza had expected, her stomach suddenly did flips, though it felt more like butterflies in her stomach. What was it that people always say to do when that happens? Oh right, _DIGEST THEM_! Riza swallowed a laugh when she sensed a change in Hibari, it was slight but it wasn't hard to notice.

"W-what happened?" Riza asked as an attempt to break the uncomfortable silence that began to form around them, and to clear up her confusion as to why she was graced by the two people she least expected to see when waking up.

"We were hoping you could tell us." Reborn piped up before taking another sip of his tea. "Don't you remember?" he added.

The night before seemed to be a blur but as she thought more about it, the memories came flooding back. Her brain felt extremely violated at the sudden feeling, her stomach again flipping uncontrollably but this time she wanted to vomit. Reborn noticed her face pale and decided to get her attention again. It wouldn't do them good if she suddenly vomited in front of the fiercest Vongola guardian.

"Mah, that doesn't matter right now. Just know that Kusakabe found you unconscious last night." something clicked in Riza's mind, she still felt sick to her stomach but the urge to vomit died out. She remembered the vandal and the message that he left night after night and explained to her two visitors as clearly as she could. Riza was nervous for sure, not because of what she had gone through but because she couldn't gauge Hibari and Reborn's reaction. Reborn she gets, as he always kept a stone face, Hibari was the same but Riza liked to delude herself into thinking that he cared enough about her to get angry if she were to get attacked.

Riza sighed.

 _It's no use thinking like that_. She mentally scolded herself decided to lower herself back on the futon and watch Reborn talk to Hibari. Whatever it was they were talking about was lost to her, she had stopped listening and instead found some form of satisfaction in watching Hibari. He looked calm and cool like always, even though she knew he's aloof, she couldn't help but think what it would be like for Hibari to get angry for her sake.

Would he be vocal about it? _No_.

Would he show it? _No_.

Would he scold her for being careless?

 _Maybe…?_

Riza knew the answers all along, but the thought of Hibari being angry somehow made her heart beat a little faster than she liked. Wouldn't that be nice? It's not like she enjoys being yelled at, she's not a masochist, but just the thought of Hibari actually showing some anger for her sake makes her think of a mother reprimanding their child. Something she never really went through as a child. Wait. Wait. Wait. That's not right. Why would she thought of that? Hibari's not her mother, _Hibari is…_

 _'Hibari is...what?'_ before she could finish her thought, Reborn threw a cloth on her face.

"Riza...wipe that drool off your face. It's unbecoming of you…" he said, stone-faced like always. Her once pale face suddenly gained color, she felt her cheeks and ears warmed up and tried to hide it under the safety of the blankets.

"Ja- I'd have to report this to the ninth. It might be nothing but it wouldn't hurt to be safe." he said as he jumped out into the garden. "Just stay here and get better.." he added before completely disappearing. The two of them now alone in the room, it was a little suffocating and she never noticed how difficult it was to be alone with Hibari until now.

"How much longer are you going to lie about? If you don't get up, I will bite you to death." he threatened but she felt like he didn't truly mean it. She complied and sat back up, her eyes and hands glued on her lap while the deafening silence once again enveloped them. Out in the corner of her eyes, she noticed a small cup being pushed closer to her side. Intrigued, she picked it up and immediately caught a whiff of the same scent that woke her up.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Medicine…"

 _For what?_ She thought, but the question died when the thick, greenish liquid touched her tongue. _Oh right, headache._ The taste was inexplicable, all she wanted to do was spit it all back out and yet she didn't. Hibari's scrutinizing stare remained on her until all liquid was gone. She stuck her tongue out in disgust, her face turned the same green color as the medicine.

"Ugh, that was gross…" she complained as she handed the cup back to Hibari. Her eyes shifted towards him and swore that for that brief second, Riza thought she saw him smile. Silence began to settle, the occasional sound of the bamboo breaks it every now and then but the two remained quiet.

"Tetsu reported to me about last night, he gave you a clear order not to engage the culprit."

"I couldn't help it, after I saw the message I couldn't just walk away." Hibari looked as if he was pondering about what she had said.

"Tell me what the message said…" he firmly ordered. Riza wasn't quite sure whether to tell him, when she described it to Reborn she left it in Italian. _Why should it matter if Hibari knows? Knowing him, he would probably be more angry if I lied about it._ Riza let out a sigh, followed by a very uncomfortable laugh.

 _"The daughters of the Mezzanotte Family must die."_ Riza mumbled, her hands tightly clutched her blankets.

"Mezzanotte Family?" Hibari repeated, though Riza was unsure whether it was a question or not but she assumed it was the former.

"It's my family, and the daughters that the message referred to are my sisters...and myself." Hearing herself say it loud made it seem final and the danger felt more real.

" I am pretty sure that by now you are aware I'm from another mafia family. I'm an illegitimate daughter the Mezzanotte Don." She added. Hibari remained quiet and didn't show any indication whether the news of her belonging into another mafia family stirred any reaction.

"That is neither here nor there…" he firmly said, got up on his feet and was out the door before she could respond. "I will have a talk with Tetsu, and when I return I expect you to give me a full report and a description of that man. He has caused us trouble for far too long. I will have to bite him to death…"

Riza swore she saw Hibari's lips twitched up into a wicked grin but he left too fast for her to be certain.

"I'm imagining things…" she mumbled before thinking long and hard about the man. She'll be in trouble if she couldn't remember something so trivial as facial features.

She sighed, dreading Hibari's return.


End file.
